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Cricket PlayersIf Test cricket is dying, it’s of its own making
Growth of T20 leagues are blamed for the 5-day game’s dip, but a lack of quality in matches is also contributing
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All of us who thought the T20 was killing Test cricket got it horribly wrong. Fresh evidence throws up conclusive proof that Test cricket is killing itself.
The blunt reality is, most times Test cricket nowadays is not fit for the purpose. Random matches between low ranked teams and meaningless two-match series not part of the WTC race don’t interest anyone. Sponsors let these properties pass, so do spectators and viewers. This is commercial disaster, an example of sending good money down the drain.
Normally, the conversation about Test cricket’s survival is on three related points.
1) Are they losing ground because consumers have moved to T20 cricket, a more attractive product?
2) Is Test cricket worth saving for reasons of legacy and culture? Or is it ok to let it fade away into history.
3) If the answer is Test cricket is worth saving, then what needs to be done to keep it alive.
Test cricket’s imminent demise is usually linked to the runaway success of the T20 leagues, and I recall cricket’s foremost statesman Kumar Sangakkara (a traditionalist/supporter of 5-day games) observing that if Tests have to go, they have to go. Modern sport can’t be held hostage to emotion, the market decides what survives, and if Tests don’t fit into the choices of the present generation of fans, then we must respect their decision.
Regarding Tests cricket, Virat Kohli stood in the opposite corner. He spoke forcefully about protecting Tests because they reflected cricketing excellence. Asked to describe his feeling after winning IPL for RCB in season 18 he said it was a great moment. Asked to compare T20 cricket with Tests, Virat’s response was that Test cricket is five levels above.
Virat is correct about Test cricket demanding more of players in terms of skill. Nobody disagrees with that, and the critical issue regarding the survival of Tests, more than the threat from T20 cricket, it is about delivering quality play. An ordinary 20-over game is easily forgotten, but a poor 5-day game is a grave sin.
Of late, cricket has had more than its share of forgettable, low quality Tests. Last year in South Africa, India won a two-day Test in Cape Town that lasted a mere 642 balls, just 107 overs. If that wasn’t bad enough, Test cricket this year has seen worse.
Pakistan humiliated itself against England at Leeds, losing on Day 3, its two innings spanning 85 overs. The game was too one-sided, and Pakistan sadly is just not good enough. The Australia-Bangladesh Mackey Test provided more ammunition to those who disapprove of Tests.
Stats tell a pathetic tale. Bangladesh lost by an innings within two days, and they batted twice and made just 159 runs in 72 overs. Put this in perspective.
A Test is a 5-day contest with 90 overs to be bowled every day. Pakistan, batting twice, lasted less than a day. Bangladesh were in a greater hurry – their two innings were even shorter. Compared to this, Djokovic‘s five-set Wimbledon quarterfinal that lasted five hours and 15 minutes was longer.
If the England-India series last year was a great advert for Tests (all five games producing compelling, high quality drama), these two recent games are a damning indictment. Experts link the declining standards to technical failures of batters who have forgotten how to play defensive cricket, and lost patience because of the relentless frenzy of the shorter format. If the pitch is doing a bit the batters can’t cope.
To retain the trust of fans, Test cricket has to up its game. If a match produces quality cricket there will be an audience and the market forces too will extend a helping hand. Till that happens Test cricket has only itself to blame – it is an internal job, not the conspiracy of any foreign hand.
